Solar news for 25-26 January 2026. A C7.9 (regular) solar flare erupted from the active region of AR4344 at 21:36 UTC on January 25, captured here by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The video shows the flare brightening the solar corona (outer atmosphere) as magnetic energy is rapidly released, heating the plasma to millions of degrees. Images via NASA/ILO and JHelioviewer.
Solar News January 26 (UTC): The C string flared up from our star
The sun was a little busy the last day and burned out the string Class C (regular) flare. This activity was overshadowed by the C7.9 eruption that erupted from AR4344 near the northwestern horizon at 21:36 UTC on January 25. Despite this relatively quiet day, our star remains restless, and forecasters continue to warn of the possibility of an M-class (intermediate) flare in the next few days.
Last 24 hours in the sun
(25 Jan 11 UTC – 26 Jan 11 UTC)
Flare activity: Solar activity remained lowwith 13 C-class flares observed. C7.9 of AR4344 at 21:36 UTC 25 January was the strongest eruption.
Sunspot areas: The sun’s disk facing Earth showed 10 numbered active regions.
Major manufacturers of flares: AR4351 (beta) produced several low-level C and C6.3 eruptions, with total decay noted for most of the period, but with slight reconstruction later.
The remaining areas were mostly stable and quiet. Despite being the most magnetically complex region in the disk, AR4353 produced little flare activity.
Sunbursts? No Earth-driven coronal mass ejection (CME) has been observed in available coronagraphic images during this period.
The last 24 hours in space weather
Solar Wind:Solar wind overall speed decreased coronal hole fast solar wind influence weakened. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was weak to modest and Bz it fluctuates between north and south without extended intervals to the south (the southern Bz is what increases the aurora potential most effectively).
Earth’s Magnetic Field: Earth’s magnetic field ranges from quiescent to turbulent levels, p Kp mostly 2–3 and no geomagnetic storm periods were reported.
what lies ahead Sun-Earth Forecast
Flare Activity Prediction: Low levels are expected overall, with a continued chance of an M-class flare (45%) and a slight chance of a (strong) X-class flare (5%) on 26-28. January. The most likely source remains the more active and/or complex areas of the disk, especially AR4351.
Forecast of geomagnetic activity:
January 26: Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected with an isolated active interval possible soon as the lingering influence of the coronal hole’s fast winds persists.
January 27: Mostly calm to unsettled conditions as the current brisk winds continue to weaken. Late in the day, unsettled conditions with an isolated active period become more likely as a coronal hole the current will move to a more geo-efficient position.
January 28: Further improvements to the solar wind are likely with the arrival of a burst of fast wind. G1 (minor) stormy conditions are likely early, which could increase aurora visibility towards cities like Seattle, Minneapolis and Edinburgh if Bz develops south.
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is currently in eclipse season—the twice-yearly Earth passes between the SDO and the Sun. In the SDO images you see a dark curve crossing the sun’s face. And it’s not the moon or a solar eclipse as we see it from Earth. It is a solar eclipse of Earth as seen from space. EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd will show images of what SDO sees and explain what the images show—and don’t show—and why perspective matters in astronomy. Join us – and bring your questions – from Wednesday 28th January at noon (18 UTC). Watch in the player above, or on YouTube.
This image shows solar activity—with the most active regions labeled—since 5 UTC on January 27, 2026. Original image, unlabeled, via NASA SDO. Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, labeled EarthSky. Armando Caussade posted today’s sun. Why is east and west reversed on the sun?
The sun in the last days
This image shows solar activity – with the most active regions marked – at 6 UTC on January 26, 2026. Image via NASA SDO.This image shows solar activity – with the most active regions marked – at 6 UTC on January 25, 2026. Image via NASA SDO.This image shows solar activity – with the most active regions marked – at 5 UTC on January 24, 2026. Image via NASA SDO.
Sunny pictures from our community
View on EarthSky Community Photos. | Patricio León in Santiago, Chile captured this filtered image of the sun on January 26, 2026. Patricio wrote: “Sunspots AR4342, AR4341 and AR4345 are seen passing through the western part simultaneously, clipping half the number of major sunspots in the sun’s wall.” Thank you, Patricio!View on EarthSky Community Photos. | Victor Rogus in Sedona, Arizona, took this filtered image on January 26, 2026. Victor wrote: “Across a very cloudy sky, we see sunspot AR4353, which has a beta-gamma magnetic field that poses a threat to M-class solar flares.” Thank you Viktor!View on EarthSky Community Photos. | Anthony Faulkner in Tucson, Arizona captured this filtered image of the calcium-K sun on January 25, 2026. Anthony wrote: “The calcium-K sun shows large magnetic fields.” Thank you Anthony!View on EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia took these filtered images on January 22, 2026. Mario wrote: “Hydrogen-alpha image of the sun showing some nice filaments and protrusions.” Thank you Mario!View on EarthSky Community Photos. | Jim Militello in Tucson, Arizona took this filtered image of the sun on January 20, 2026. Jim wrote: “Hydrogen-alpha image of the sun showing numerous sunspots, active regions 4341, 4342, 4349, filaments and bulges.” Thank you, Jim!
Sometimes we show images of the sun obtained using hydrogen-alpha filters. Read why.
Bottom Line: Solar News January 26, 2026: Flare C7.9 caps a day of relatively quiet (normal) class C flares. But our star remains restless, with a possibility of an M (moderate) flare in the coming days.
Submit your photos here
View photos of the community here
C. Alex Young
View articles
About the author:
C. Alex Young is a solar astrophysicist studying the Sun and space weather. Alex is passionate about sharing science with diverse audiences. This led him to start The Sun Today with his designer Linda. First through Facebook and Twitter, and then with the addition of the extensive website thesuntoday.org, the two work together to engage the public about the Sun and its role in our solar system. Alex led the national effort to engage in the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse. He is the Associate Director for Science in the Heliophysics Science Division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Raul Cortes
View articles
About the author:
Raúl Cortés studied engineering at the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico, received a scholarship to continue his studies in Japan, and after returning to Monterrey earned MBA credits at the Graduate School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Faculty. He became a faculty member at UANL teaching mathematics and physics and devoted the rest of his professional career to serving in engineering fields for corporations based in the US, Japan, and Germany. His passion for the sky dates back to when he was a child, always interested in the stars and constellations and reading and researching the matter. Since 2010, he has been photographing stars, constellations, the Moon and the Sun. Raúl’s work on his photography has been published and published on ESC and other platforms and gained attention to be published in a local Monterrey newspaper.
Armando Caussade
View articles
About the author:
Armando is best known as an astronomy educator, after more than 30 years of extensive public outreach and 10 years of teaching at universities. As one of the few science communicators in Puerto Rico during Halley’s last visit to Comet, he took on a pioneering role starting in 1985 when science was just beginning to enter the collective mind. Over the years, his work as a teacher, speaker, and writer inspired people to take an interest in science and brought lasting change to Puerto Rican culture. After Armando was accepted for the 2014-2015 PolarTREC Antarctic season, he was assigned to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, where he successfully led 10 days of work at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in 2015. His affiliations include Ana G. Méndez University, Cupey Campus (2014 to 2021), University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus (2015 to 2017), NASA JPL’s Solar System Ambassadors (2004 to 2006), and NASA Space Grant (2017 to 2019), where he served as a representative.
Leave a Reply